[Note: Portions of this case study were published, with some editing, in Forbes. We believe that you, as a professional coach or consumer of coaching services, will find this fuller account of an exceptional team-based coaching process to be of even greater value—though the publication of a fragment of this case study in a widely read and highly-regarded publication such as Forbes speaks convincingly to the importance and credibility of this case study. You will also note that several additional comments (in italics) have been provided by another member of the coaching team (Team Coach), providing even greater opportunity for the reader to derive insights and inspiration from this case study.]

If you find accountability, collaboration, and communication to be issues in your organization, the underlying cause may be a culture of distrust. Trust is the missing ingredient for true employee engagement within an organization. According to Tolero Solutions, 45% of employees say lack of trust in leadership is the biggest issue impacting work performance.

To me, trust is sort of a symptom of whether or not employee engagement exists,” said Bob Tobias, director of the Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation at The American University. “It’s not possible… to have employee engagement without trust.

Trust allows employees and management to resolve disagreements, have lower turnover rates, take smarter risks, contribute innovative ideas, and more. All of which can impact a company’s growth and bottom line.

Trust can be fragile. Once broken, it can create breakdowns in communication, disgruntled emotions, and can really slow down projects and therefore results within an organization. A company without trust cannot successfully collaborate when the players may not be on civil speaking terms.

Distrust can be vile in nature. Once established, it can grow quickly within an organization, instantly infecting new employees as they assimilate into a culture devoid of trust. The problem with trust is that is actually easier to destroy than it is to maintain.

Traditional application of one to one coaching can be effective on a small scale within companies, but what do you do when distrust has become entrenched throughout an entire organization? 1:1 coaching can become cost prohibitive when 60 or more people need it, and there is the logistical issue of how you would coordinate the effectiveness and consistency of that many individual coaches, especially if they are external to your organization.

Suzi Pomerantz, MT, MCC is an award-winning executive coach, facilitator, and bestselling author with 24 years of coaching and teaching experience working with leaders and teams in over 200 organizations internationally, including seven companies on the Fortune 100 list. Suzi specializes in helping executives, teams and organizations find clarity at the intersection of leadership and business development, with a particular emphasis on influence and strategy. She was one of the first executive coaches to receive the Master credential from the ICF in 1998 and teaches at several of the top coach training schools. She was a founding board member of the ICCO and IJCO, and has authored over 30 publications and 11 books about coaching, ethics, and business development, including the best selling book Seal the Deal. She is the founder of the Leading Coaches' Center and co-founder of the Library of Professional Coaching, provides pro-bono coaching to TED Fellows through SupporTED, and has spoken at the ICF annual conference, the Metro-DC ICF conference, Linkage, and many other venues. http://www.suzipomerantz.com